In the summer of 1997, Atari veterans gathered together to reminisce about the golden age of videogames and to celebrate the 20th birthday of the Atari 2600.
These are the original, uncut interviews and discussions shot for the resulting documentary - Stella at 20. (Stella being the Atari 2600's code name during development.)
Interviews include: Atari founder Nolan Bushnell; engineers: Al Alcorn, Joe Decuir, Steve Mayer, Ron Milner; programmers: David Crane, Steve DeFrisco, Tod Frye, Rob Fulop, John Harris, Jim Huether, Larry Kaplan, Dennis Koble, Rick Maurer, Al Miller, Doug Neubauer, Carol Shaw, Bob Smith, Larry Wagner. Also included is rare footage of Atari and Amiga engineer Jay Miner from 1989.
Reviews
Reviewer:
TacticalNeuronics
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February 1, 2017
Subject: True Pioneers - Valuable Lessons
Subject: True Pioneers - Valuable Lessons
This is a must see for anyone who looks back on the late 70’s and early 80’s as the spark that created the wonders of the technical world we live in today. It is also a great time capsule of where we were in the late 90’s.
These wonderful engineers gave birth to the video game console, we owe them for years of entertainment as a result of their contributions. They were engineers, they weren't looking for fame or glory, and they were just doing their job, but through some miracle they came up with one of the most open approaches in hardware design allowing the very talented programmers to fill in the rest. Although limited by memory, their ingenuity and imaginations conquered these challenges and they managed to gift us with one of the best periods in time, here on earth to be a kid. I consider most of these men to be role models for all of us, and I just wanted to truly express my gratitude with this post, I credit them with the spark that led me to my career in software development, love of technology, and I still actually play, collect and even write games on my VCS. Watching these guys talk, I’m reminded of all the engineers and developers I’ve worked with over the years, and see the same soul and spirit at our core, we don’t do what we do for money or fame, we do it because we are driven by the love of the challenge. Although I do thank and credit the founders of Activision for reminding those who would take advantage of us, that they stand on our creative shoulders, and that we alone determine the true measure of their success.
These wonderful engineers gave birth to the video game console, we owe them for years of entertainment as a result of their contributions. They were engineers, they weren't looking for fame or glory, and they were just doing their job, but through some miracle they came up with one of the most open approaches in hardware design allowing the very talented programmers to fill in the rest. Although limited by memory, their ingenuity and imaginations conquered these challenges and they managed to gift us with one of the best periods in time, here on earth to be a kid. I consider most of these men to be role models for all of us, and I just wanted to truly express my gratitude with this post, I credit them with the spark that led me to my career in software development, love of technology, and I still actually play, collect and even write games on my VCS. Watching these guys talk, I’m reminded of all the engineers and developers I’ve worked with over the years, and see the same soul and spirit at our core, we don’t do what we do for money or fame, we do it because we are driven by the love of the challenge. Although I do thank and credit the founders of Activision for reminding those who would take advantage of us, that they stand on our creative shoulders, and that we alone determine the true measure of their success.
